Thank you for sharing this. It gave me a lot of ideas on how to start off. I have always been told that my writing is very good if not excellent. But thats mostly with term papers and things of the sorts. I have also won a couple of essay contests. I have never done freelance before and the only writing samples I have are some short stories, term papers, and research papers I’ve done. I also have some poetry. Do you think I could really blossom at being freelance with the little experience I have?
Of course, FlexJobs is not the only site for finding remote work and jobs you can do from home. Upwork is the largest marketplace for freelancers in the world, with demand for nearly any remote-friendly skill set. Then there are the niche sites, like We Work Remotely, where the majority of job posters are early stage startups looking for talented engineers. Still, FlexJobs may be the winner: its robust, easy-to-navigate system offers tens of thousands of jobs from thousands of employers at any one time. If you’re serious about finding remote work you can do from home or on the road, there’s no better place to look.
Thank you so much Elna for these 20 tips. I am new to freelance writing and have recently read Writer For Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success by Kelly James-Enger, and would recommend it to anyone, but was still feeling that I needed more. A quick google search led me to this blog post of yours which has given me the extra boost I needed. Many of my ‘How do I get started?’ questions have been answered. I am taking one of your free courses and am planning on taking your ‘Write To 1K’ course very soon. The price for your course is very reasonable and I can’t wait to start. A quick scan of your blog has assured me that I have found a goldmine of resources and I want to thank you again for taking the time to share your learning curve and your experience with us all.
I have a lot to share with personal experience and speaking with passion from the heart about health and diet. I know lifestyle, health and diet topics are my niche, in particular veganism and raw foods. I have strong spiritual practices such as fasting, meditating, yoga etc and know there is a client base looking for writers on these topics. Are you able to advise me or direct me to clients and sites focused on these topics?
I just discovered your blog and want to say how right on you are about the above. I’ve reached a dead end with freelance writing and after reading some of your posts, I have learned some of the reasons why, like not having an online presence for example! You’re also absolutely right about bidding sites (which was in another post). I’ve tried them before and they weren’t helpful. Anywho, I wanted to ask about #10. It seems like a great tip! But am wondering how open the web design companies are to providing writers with a list of people in need of web content? I definitely want to try this out.

“I love being a part of TTEC@home because of the flexibility of the schedule. There are way more benefits to working from home than most people realize. I save money on transportation and clothing. I save time. I have a tax write-off. And I have less anxiety. The bonus of working with TTEC is that I’ve met some great people and have learned new skills.”

I read 10-20 books per year, write almost every day, but I am having trouble knowing what the next steps are to building my credentials, especially without a degree, prior payed experience, or a high volume of readers to my blog. I really just want one simple freelance gig, but I can’t seem to land one. I feel like I’m on a raft in the middle of the ocean!
I’m new at this and thought it would be a good idea to investigate and maybe find jobs,. I am a writer and have a manuscript I am trying to get published. My manuscript has been accepted by two companies, but It cost a lot of money to do that, so I thought I would try to make money this way. Should I go further with this, and if so, can you help me along and teach me the ropes?
How to Get It: Customer service is the biggest work-at-home field, with companies including Spiegel, Hilton, Best Western, HSN, 1-800-FLOWERS and many others using at-home reps. Fill out an application with staffing companies such as Arise, Alpine Access, VIPdesk, LiveOps, and Convergys, all of which vet the companies who are hiring through them. If you need benefits, search through a staffing company that will hire you as an employee (Alpine Access, VIPdesk and Convergys do this) rather than an independent contractor. If you're a contractor, you may be asked to pay a small fee (between $15 and $35) for a background check. While a fee can be a sign of a scam, independent contractors are responsible for their own expenses.
Although the demand is expected to decrease over the next decade, the opportunities are still there for travel agents who can harness the Internet to earn clients and help them plan their adventures. According to the BLS, job prospects may be best for travel agents who offer expertise in certain regions of the world, have experience planning tours or adventures, or who focus on group travel.
If working for yourself sounds like a major pain, don’t worry. There are still plenty of real work-from-home jobs in which you can work for an established company. These are more traditional jobs where a company hires you and pays an hourly wage. Typically, these jobs involve addressing customer questions and calls which are directed virtually to your own phone.
oDesk has put me under supervision based on negative feedback from clients even though my rating is 4.77. One client said that he already had 700 words. When I looked at what he wrote, it was on a sixth-grade level. No research, statistics, compelling copy, SEO keywords, etc. So I had to start from scratch. I ended up acting like a tutor. Another client loved my work but kept disappearing. I asked for her website address, information about her company, etc. She let another week go by then disappeared again. I could go on and on. I think that clients who use the content mills do believe that they can get stellar writing for peanuts. I believe these incidents are blessings in disguise. I’ve had my wake-up call. I follow top-notch bloggers and copywriters and hone my skills continually. It is up to the freelancer to determine his standards and ultimately his worth.

As a novice freelance writer, you’ll need to get some experience under your belt before you can start grabbing for lucrative writing gigs. Although many people slag off content mills such as TextBroker (which turn out bulk content and don’t pay very much), students shouldn’t ignore them as they are a place to earn guaranteed money (even if it’s rather low money).

My girl came across this site, after I told her about losing a comment posting gig. I appreciate the time you took putting this together. I’ve been a part of the oDesk site for about 2 and a half years now, and I know all too well the struggle it is to get good paying work. oDesk is cool, but the foolishness that involves taking tests just so that you seem a little more proficient than the next person has always bugged me. I’ve been using oDesk as a starting point, and then convince my clients to move away so that we work together privately. My international clients hate all the extra fees. I’m really looking forward to trying the sites you mentioned, and once again Thanks for your time.
At Superprof, we offer more than 1000 subjects across dozens of categories (sports/ academia/hobbies/music/etc.). You don’t necessarily have to be a qualified tutor to be an effective educator. For example, a professional pianist is obviously qualified to give piano lessons but teaching involves much more than certification. It requires passion; love for your craft, enthusiasm and the ability to foster these attributes in your students. A piano teacher does not necessarily have to be a concert pianist, but they must have good ideas on how to become one and how to master the instrument and the music.
Whatever you do, when first out of college, it can take a long time to build up your experience. It can be a long, frustrating climb, but do have patience and try not to get frustrated when you keep hearing that you need experience to get the job. It really, truly is character-building and most of us (whose dad doesn’t own the company!) have to go through it. Best of luck!
This post has been SO helpful! I love it! Thank you for all your insightful tips and tricks! I am currently in the process of starting up my own website for blogging, and when I learned about freelance writing I knew I had to try it out! So I just have one question for you, would you suggest having a blog while freelance writing? Maybe as a way to provide a little extra work for clients to refer to as sample work from me? I was originally going to blog and go the advertising route to provide an income off the blog, but freelance writing seems much more interesting to me.

Transcription doesn’t require a lot of technical skill — you’re essentially just typing up what you hear. Every now and then you may need to take a critical ear to what’s going on if it sounds garbled, and the better you’re able to do this, the better your transcriptions are. But it’s not usually too challenging, and there’s a transcript “code” you can include in your transcript in any section that’s too garbled to understand.

For example, if you type in “banana bread recipe,” search engines should pull up recipes from major sites first. Posts from smaller blogs or recipes for other, related dishes—like zucchini bread—should fall toward the end of the list. As a search engine evaluator, you’ll be asked to enter specific words or phrases into a search engine, then assess how appropriate and informative the sites it pulls up are.
There are different ways you can do this. Perhaps the most popular way is by promoting music videos. The revenue can be heavy with videos using popular music. But getting the licensing agreements from the artists is extremely difficult. A better route might be to promote local talent. These can be small artists who are looking to be promoted. If they have good music, and you can create compelling videos around their songs, you can earn a steady income.

Microjobs can involve a huge range of different tasks. Some are quite fun, others are bitterly monotonous. One day you might be categorizing YouTube videos, the next writing short product descriptions, and the next recording your voice over and over again to help train Siri-like recognition systems. Many people look for online data entry jobs, and some microjobs are along those lines.

Hi Elna! Thank you for the insightful post! I am just starting out with freelancing and your article has provided a lot of useful informations! I have one question though; in order to sign up as a freelancer in websites such as Upwork or other related sites, do you have to be a US citizen? (Because I am not!) If yes, does that mean you can only apply for freelancing jobs in your own country? I hope to hear from you soon!

I read a lot of blog post about freelance writing but yours is the most helpful. Thank you a lot for your help. I have a bit of a problem. I would be happy if you tell me if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So I have a masters degree in creative writing and I have a pretty good portfolio but the problem is, it is not in english. I am Bulgarian and I wonder if that would be a problem for the blogs and online magazines out there. I would be really happy if you share your opinion on the matter.

Thank you for the encouragement…It’s that first step that is the scariest! I have written and designed all too many things in my lifetime and going/doing this new phase of my ‘connecting the dots’ and reaching out to find my nitch and have fun again with words and thoughts….My oh my!!!! Infinite possibilities open-up!!! Onwards and upwards! Take care 😊

In addition to large tech companies like Apple and Dell, at-home jobs for technical support representatives are available from any number of large companies who sell products with any type of technological component to them. Keep in mind that technology isn’t just limited to electronics. Companies selling any type of product with working parts may need technical support representatives to help customers with problems operating the product.

With so many businesses operating mostly, or even completely, online, it’s no wonder that many hire virtual assistants to help keep them organized and complete administrative tasks. According to the International Virtual Assistants Association, these workers are “independent contractors who (from a remote location, usually their home or office) support multiple clients in a variety of industries by providing administrative, creative, and technical services.”

It should be that simple…and 30-40+ years ago it was. We’d see “right” spelled as “write” and “peeled” spelled as “pealed” and know instantly what was intended. Unfortunately, it’s been my experience that errors in every type of writing…ads, serious magazine and book writing, the news that crawls across the TV screen, etc….are so common that it’s as though everyone thinks they’re being paid to make errors.
As a business owner, there’s a good chance you’ve considered outsourcing projects or even daily tasks. Or perhaps you already do outsource. Hopefully, if you do outsource, you are looking at the Philippines. This Asian nation is a haven for driven, dedicated and diligent workers eager for a long-term, full-time opportunity. People have had positive experiences hiring Filipino virtual assistants.
Thank you for this info. I have twelve tumors and most are on my back. I want to work and need my children to see that I am still able to bring something to the table. This disease is inherited and they both have it. I have State insurance so I have little hope of getting the help I need. I don’t let them know that but am constantly pushing them to get a career that has good insurance and one that will take them to unimaginable places with insurance lol. I needed this article it has gave me hope. Thank you and God bless. P.s. if you have more info plz email me. I am open to any ideas you might havee.
If working for yourself sounds like a major pain, don’t worry. There are still plenty of real work-from-home jobs in which you can work for an established company. These are more traditional jobs where a company hires you and pays an hourly wage. Typically, these jobs involve addressing customer questions and calls which are directed virtually to your own phone.
Thank you so much Elna for these 20 tips. I am new to freelance writing and have recently read Writer For Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success by Kelly James-Enger, and would recommend it to anyone, but was still feeling that I needed more. A quick google search led me to this blog post of yours which has given me the extra boost I needed. Many of my ‘How do I get started?’ questions have been answered. I am taking one of your free courses and am planning on taking your ‘Write To 1K’ course very soon. The price for your course is very reasonable and I can’t wait to start. A quick scan of your blog has assured me that I have found a goldmine of resources and I want to thank you again for taking the time to share your learning curve and your experience with us all.

I am also new to the work from home world but not that new. I have done some work with MCA and SFI. Neither worked for me well. But I am a young stay at home mother of four, all children being 5 and under. And I’m looking for some part time or full time work to support me and the kids. Phone or non-phone is great. I prefer non-phone work because of the kids. And non-writing as well. Thanks for your help. 🙂